Sunday, October 13, 2013

Each night before I go to bed, I make the rounds to my children’s rooms to peep in on them one last time. I look into the room that holds my daughters and whisper a prayer. They live in a generation that hates God and has declared war on His design for womanhood. The enemy is prowling about seeking whom he may devour. I know my daughters are on his hit list.The dragon of feminism is responsible for the nosedive that virtue has taken in Christian women of the 21st century. As the radical liberation movement of the 60’s slowly died down, a “new and revised” feminist ideology was waiting in the wings. The fallout has been devastating. Unless our daughters live on Mars, they will be hard pressed to escape the influences of revised feminism. Its message is peddled throughout every form of media, making it inescapable.It is my prayer that the daughters the Lord has entrusted to me will grow in wisdom and be able to stand strong, taking up the full armor of God, to “withstand the evil one” in the days ahead. I pray my daughters will wear a belt of truth and wield their swords against the adversary that seeks to destroy them, dealing deathblows to the enemy by choosing to embrace the calling that God has on their lives—to glorify Him within the realm He designed for womanhood.Six Dragons That Seek to Devour Our Daughters1.) TechnologyTechnology can be a tool used to glorify God. It can also be a highly addictive, unhealthy, pride-inducing waste of time for young women, that dulls their minds, entices them away from the family and hinders their powers of discernment . I list the dragon of technology first here because many of the other dragons are caused by, or worsened by, technology.We must watch closely what our children are doing online. Someone once said, “You are what you read.” What blogs are they reading? What Facebook pages are they visiting? What music or videos are on their iPods and what books are on their e-readers? Technology seems like it is so vast and explosive that it cannot be regulated, but with diligence it can.2.) Improper Understanding of Beauty“Our culture encourages us to cultivate outward beauty. God tells us to pursue inner beauty that is of great worth. (1 Peter 3:4)The world has a standard of beauty that is unattainable. God’s standard is within reach of all Christians.Society tells us to pursue beauty that lasts only for a brief while. God tells us that the beauty of soul that comes from Him will grow more beautiful with the passing of time. (Prov. 31: 30)Culture tells us that the models on the covers of the magazines are the standard of beauty. God tells us to aspire to the holy women of the past. (1 Peter 3:5)The world conveys to us that we should “turn heads.” But turning heads lasts only briefly–for a moment and then forgotten. The beauty that comes from serving others and investing in their lives lasts a lifetime and makes an indelible mark on them… and glorifies God.”Taken from chapter 3 of the ebookMore Than Rules: Exploring the Heart of Beauty and Modesty3.) Unbiblical View of Relationships and BoysWe must pray that God would help us instill in our daughters a Biblical understanding of relationships and the purpose of marriage. If girls are fed a steady diet (for some girls —even an occasional taste) of pop music, chick flicks and teen romance novels, why would we expect them to pursue anything different for their own relationships as they get older and the natural desire for romance arrives? I truly believe that this dragon is fought around age 6-8 because that is the target age that the media pursues. Exceptions apply, some girls may be older and some may be younger, but this temptation does exist at a young age and we must stay watchful against it.4.) DiscontentmentWe live in a society that breeds discontent through materialism and feminism: the belief that we can have it all. Just as the serpent deceived Eve in the garden with a quick-fix solution for having her cake and eating it too, many women have fallen prey to this same dragon. Mothers must be faithful in exposing this age- old beast for the wicked propaganda that he peddles: a lie that could leave them with power, success and wealth, but in the end, emptiness.5.) Peers and Conformity (a two-headed dragon)If our daughters are going to wage war with the dragons of this day, standing strong in opposition, we must teach them the challenging balance of living in the world without becoming part of the world. We are just pilgrims here. Our stay is short. And if we, as mothers, haven’t come to terms with our own status as temporary residents, we sure can’t expect our daughters to have much impact. I fear that many of us have sent a message to our daughters that it is possible to be friends with the world and God. But God doesn’t play second fiddle. Let us not be conformed to the world. We must help our daughters to choose their friends wisely because who we spend time with is who we will become like. Sometimes standing strong means standing alone.“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:46.)Hollywood/Pop CultureEven just two decades ago, it seemed the negative influences coming from Hollywood were a minority voice. Today those minority voices are the popular opinion. There is a constant barrage of ungodliness coming out of Hollywood today.Many of us may have been caught off guard by the gradual and progressive downturn of the culture. We must set firm boundaries here for what our daughters are entertained by. God does not wink at sin and slap his knees at the punchlines that mock His Word. Why do we?The more a person is exposed to ungodly influences, the more desensitized they become to the same influences in the future. As Christians we must weigh our entertainment against God’s standards and no others’.I’m no authority. Just a mom who has been a victim of many of these dragons and continues to fight them often. I’m resolved to do battle against them in my own heart and mind and committed to walking alongside my daughters as they do the same. May the Lord grow us all to be strong, mighty women who are proficient in striking death blows to the enemy, by understanding and obeying our God-given mission as women of God.And may we say as Paul said to Timothy:“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.”1 Tim. 1:18, 19a

ABOUT ME

Emma Joy

Welcome to the Emma Joy blog! My prayer is that this will be a great resource for people to learn about God or grow in their walk with Him. "I am just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread!" I hope you will be blessed.